


I Remember When We Broke Up (The First Time)

by mischief_managed



Series: vices & virtues [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, University, i can't believe it took me so long to write this, ziam centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23226715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischief_managed/pseuds/mischief_managed
Summary: “Remind me to take away your spare key,” Niall grumbled under his breath. Zayn glared at him right back.“Kidding, love you,” Niall said, putting his hands up in surrender. “Okay, so what did you want?”Zayn took a deep, shuddering breath. “Okay,” he started. “Okay.”“Well get on with it, then.”“Me and Liam broke up.”“Oh. Oh, Zayn.”“Yeah.”ORThe one where Zayn and Liam get into their first fight as a couple.
Relationships: Zayn Malik & Liam Payne, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Series: vices & virtues [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/301365
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	I Remember When We Broke Up (The First Time)

**Author's Note:**

> so lmk how it takes a whole global pandemic and stock market crash and me having to go on temp leave from my job for me to finally fish this out of my drafts? like, i wrote the first part of this series in 2015 and that's a whole 5 YEARS AGO???? 
> 
> i literally finished all of college and got a degree and a full-time job and went through two boyfriends and a hoe phase in that time, and now that i'm in self-quarantine this drabble (!!!) is finally done in like, 7 hours. LMFAOOO i'm-
> 
> anyway, i hope u ziam fans out there enjoy! i'm sorry for the wait, and i'm sorry if it seems rushed, i'm just no longer feeling them as much anymore since i've come to accept that the irl ziam i used to know has died, so i'm honestly not sure if i'll end up fleshing out this series the way i intended to all those years ago, but i hope this brings y'all some satisfaction. <3
> 
> EDIT: This fic has been translated into Russian and I'm HONORED that it someone loved it enough to translate!! Read here: https://ficbook.net/readfic/9670037/24862632

“That’s it! I’m never talking to him ever again,” Zayn said, storming into Niall’s tiny dorm and throwing his backpack across the floor.

“Jesus Christ!” Niall yelped from his place at his desk. “Knock, will ya? Coulda been mid-wank when you barged in here screaming about something I probably don’t care about.”

Zayn rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well you weren’t, so pay attention to me.”

“Remind me to take away your spare key,” Niall grumbled under his breath. Zayn glared at him right back.

“Kidding, love you,” Niall said, putting his hands up in surrender. “Okay, so what did you want?”

Zayn took a deep, shuddering breath. “Okay,” he started. “Okay.”

“Well get on with it, then.”

“Me and Liam broke up.”

“Oh. Oh, Zayn.”

“Yeah.”

“But why? How? You guys are - were - literally perfect together!” Niall questioned, his voice dripping with concern and his big blue eyes full of shock and sadness. Zayn tried to not to look at them for too long. He knew that if he did, the bright blue of Niall’s eyes would morph into Liam’s chocolate brown puppy eyes, eyes he’d grown so fond of over the past couple years he had known him and over the past two months he’d been dating him, eyes that he had shared so many memories with both as a friend and a lover.

How did they end up here?

“We had a fight,” Zayn started, pinching the bridge of his nose, clearly very stressed out. “A really big one this time, like, I came back from class this afternoon and he was on the couch in our dorm just on his laptop, so you know I just wanna cuddle because a three-hour lecture on Medieval history is brutal and you know Liam, he always knows how to calm me down. But he brushes me off. Proper shoves me off his shoulder and everything, doesn’t say a word.”

“What the fuck, man?” Niall interjected, hints of an angry red starting to creep onto his pale face. He’d only ever seen Liam in a mood over...well, he can’t seem to remember when. Acting like this, especially to someone he cared about so much was so unlike him, and Niall was angry on Zayn’s behalf.

“That’s what I told him, right?” Zayn replied. “I was all, ‘The fuck is your problem, babe?’ And you know what he says to me?”

Niall shook his head, trying to anticipate the next part of Zayn’s story.

“He says to me, ‘You left all your dirty dishes from breakfast in the sink again.’ And he says it all annoyed and shit, like I murdered someone. And I’m thinking to myself, why is he so grumpy? But I’m grumpy too from having classes all day, because some people aren’t as lucky as their boyfriends to not have classes on Fridays. So I say to him, ‘Why are you so mad about it? I was gonna clean up later.’ And he starts coming at me, all ‘You always do this, it’s like you don’t even remember that someone else lives with you.’ And I’m like, ‘The fuck? This coming from the guy who always messes up the fucking toothpaste.’ I mean, honestly, who squeezes from the middle of the tube and not the bottom? Do you enjoy wasting good money on toothpaste? Ugh. And I tell him this, because honestly, like, have some consideration?” Zayn ranted, stood up now from his spot on Niall’s roommate Eoghan’s bed and pacing now. 

“I exist too, this dorm doesn’t revolve around just him. I’m paying tuition too, arsehole. And I get more upset because Liam’s having a fuckin’ fit over fuckin’ cereal bowls, so we just start throwing insults at each other and goin’ at it and yellin’. So finally after what feels like forever, he’s all, ‘Well if you’ve felt that way this whole time, then maybe we just shouldn’t be together because obviously what’s the point?’ And at this point, I’m so angry I can’t see or think, so I just yell, ‘Fine! I guess we shouldn’t then!’” And I grabbed my shit and walked out. Didn’t even look back before I closed the door.”

Niall deflated, and looked at Zayn incredulously. “So you mean to tell me,” Niall started slowly. “That all this shit started over fucking cereal?”

“Cereal bowls, yes,” the darker haired man confirmed matter-of-factly. Two seconds later though, his eyes became full of worry and mist. “Oh, God, I didn’t want it to be like this. I regretted agreeing to break up as soon as the words left my mouth.”

“Hey, stop that now, won’t have ya crying on my watch,” Niall chided, pulling his friend in for a hug. “Let’s put this in perspective, okay?”

Zayn snuggled into Niall’s neck. His vision was foggy, but his body wouldn’t let the tears out. The thought of fucking up his and Liam’s relationship so soon just...weighed him down. After all that damn buildup of not making a move, this was going to be their breaking point? 

“Zaynie, if you’re this upset over it, imagine how Leemo is feeling,” Niall said, petting his friend’s hair. “Plus, think about it - every relationship has its ups and downs, this is just going to be one of them. Talk it out with him. I think maybe he had a long day, too, if he was acting like that.”

The dark haired boy let out a muffled. He felt helpless. Liam would tell him if he had had a bad day, right? Maybe Zayn had overreacted, thinking that just because Liam didn’t have class today he didn’t have problems. Maybe all this time he should’ve been more careful to do the dishes all along. But he was too scared to bring it up now. It seemed like they had both made their choices. 

If Zayn were to look back on past relationships throughout his life, the common thread between all of them from each beginning to each end was that he had just seemed to accept whatever the outcome was. When he was in nursery school (it counts, okay?) and Sophie San Pedro held his hand in the sandbox and said they were married but seemingly found a new husband by the end of recess, he simply went about the rest of his day. When he was 12 and finally built up the courage to pass that note to Sean Miller in class that had a simple, “Sean - I really like you. - Z” scribbled on it, that Tina Perkins intercepted and announced the contents to the class, he had brushed off his mortification with ease because he didn’t have to hide anymore. He hadn’t even minded too much that Sean avoided him after that. In Year 11, he broke Perrie Edwards’ heart because he simply didn’t like her as much as he had when they first started dating, and didn’t feel too bad, even though they’d been together for nearly a year. But this situation was different.

Liam was different. And Zayn couldn’t just let him get away.

After some moping, Zayn finally lifted his head from the crook of Niall’s neck. “I have to talk to him,” he said.

“Gee, thanks Ni, you’re so right, your advice is invaluable. What would I ever do without you and your comforting touch and friendly insight!” Niall deadpanned. Zayn smacked him upside the head. 

“Thank you, ya idiot,” said Zayn, but there was no bite to his words. He pulled out his phone, and was disappointed to see that there were no missed calls or texts from Liam. He deflated, and his mind started to race again. Did Liam not care? Did he not want Zayn like he thought he did? Maybe it really was over and Liam had kicked Zayn to the curb as easily as a bit of litter.

“Zayn? Zayn? Are you okay?” 

Niall had been waving his hand in front of Zayn’s face for God knows how long. “Earth to Zayn? You like, got excited, then completely blanked out.”

“He hasn’t left me any messages,” Zayn said sadly. “He’s not looking for me, maybe he doesn’t even want me back.”

Niall sighed. There was a hint of exasperation in his voice. “Zaynie, I’m gonna bet you my paycheck for this week that he’s probably still home, probably crying into a pillow like a child thinking that he fucked up too. In fact, he’s probably regretting everything that he said to you earlier - that softie’s probably waiting on a text from you, too. So please, for the love of God, stop moping and go home and get your man!”

That was all the motivation the raven-haired boy needed. So he huffed, took a deep breath, and pulled himself together. “Nialler, you’re literally the best hype man I could ever have,” said Zayn, before pulling the blonde into a hug, grabbing his backpack then heading out the door.

“And don’t you fucking forget it!” Niall yelled as his friend closed the door, but not before Zayn could throw him a lovely middle finger.

****

When Zayn finally arrived back at his dorm, it was getting dark. And just like Niall had predicted, his Liam was hugging into a pillow and lying on the couch puffy-eyed and a little red. Zayn hated when Niall was right, but the sight of Liam looking sad and pathetic sent a pang of guilt through his body. The same way it did the morning after they admitted their feelings to each other.

“Hey,” Zayn said.

Liam looked up at Zayn from his place on the couch and all Zayn could think about was the puppy eyes he was making. His heart was melting again, and he didn’t know where to begin. He just knew that even if it killed him, a bit of a tiff over cereal was not where their story was going to end. 

“Hey,” said Liam. He looked completely and utterly defeated.

Zayn put his bag down and walked over to the couch. “Is it okay if I sit?”

Liam nodded silently. His normally perfectly quiffed chestnut hair was now all over the place, and Zayn couldn’t help thinking that it was cute as he took a seat next to him.

“How are you feeling?” Zayn finally asked, breaking their awkward silence.

“Like right shit,” said Liam. There was just a little sting in his voice, but mostly, he was sad.

“I went to see Niall after I walked out,” said Zayn nervously. “I was so upset because I thought for sure it - we - were over.”

Liam sighed. “And what did Niall have to say about everything?” he asked. Liam still wasn’t quite looking at Zayn yet, and he was fiddling with his hand. He still had his arms wrapped around the pillow he’d been clutching onto.

“He laughed in my face because we’re in this situation because of cereal,” Zayn finally spit out.

Liam couldn’t help but chuckle. He loosened his grip on the pillow and the tension he’d been holding in his shoulders fell away a little, and Zayn felt some relief seeing his Leemo’s reaction. Feeling like it was safe to do so, he reached out for Liam’s hand.

“We’re some real idiots, aren’t we?” Liam asked.

“Abso-fuckin-lutely,” Zayn replied. “But especially me.”

Liam’s head snapped up then. “No, stop it. I shouldn’t have come at you the way I did. I was just upset because the orgo exam grades got released today and I didn’t get what I wanted. It just hurt because I had studied so hard and pulled so many goddamn all-nighters for this one exam just to not even get a good grade on it.

“Everything was just extremely irritating because I got so worked up over it, and I saw the dishes in the sink and just….lost my mind, essentially,” Liam continued. He was holding Zayn’s hand and giving it little squeezes as he spoke and well….it was driving the dark haired boy insane because God, he loved Liam and he couldn’t stay mad at him at all. “I’m sorry I projected all this onto you. I should have just come to you like a normal person.”

Liam was looking at the ground again, but his hand was still in Zayn’s which was a good sign.

“Leemo, I’m so sorry,” Zayn said, and though he tried to control it, he couldn’t help but throw his arms around Liam. “I’m sorry I was so selfish - I didn’t think at all why you would be upset on a day you didn’t even have class. I’m sorry I wasn’t supportive or thoughtful.”

Liam melted into Zayn. “Does this mean we’re not actually broken up?” he asked, muffled in Zayn’s shoulder.

“God, no,” said Zayn. “I seriously don’t plan on letting you go anytime soon - I love you far too much.”

“That’s a relief then, because I love you, too,” said Liam. He pulled his head away for just long enough to plant a soft kiss on Zayn’s lips.


End file.
